Book Tour: Spellbound (and Giveaway!)

Title and Author: Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
Release Date: June 28, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 324 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 4 stars

What’s a girl to do when meeting The One means she’s cursed to die a horrible death? Life hasn’t been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she’s irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight. But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can’t stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma’s been having the oddest dreams. Visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Spellbound is more than another nice paranormal romance. It is fun, exciting, fresh and so enjoyable!

I love the characters, they are easily the best part of the story! Emma has had a hard and sad life. You really root for her to get the guy, to break the curse and vanquish the evil high school girls. Her voice is the best. She is sarcastic and funny and I loved the cultural references. I liked how she started out crushing on Brandon and as she hung out with him, it grew into more. Brandon is so very swoon worthy. He is a handsome bad boy who does not care what anybody thinks about him. He and Emma are so great together.

While the characters rock, the story is good too! The mystery and the magic that tie Emma and Brendan together is fun to discover and well told.

Another great thing about this book? The ending is completely satisfying! Even though there could be a sequel, Emma and Brendan’s story is complete! It has been a long time since I read a standalone book and I enjoyed it.

Content: Profanity, kissing, underage drinking, violence. 

Spellbound Giveaway!

Want a finished copy of Spellbound? Leave a comment below with your email. Extra entry for GFC followers, just leave a separate comment. Contest ends July 5, 2011. US/Canada Only. Must be 13+.

iPod Nano Giveaway!

1. In order to enter to win a iPod nano including the Spellbound Playlist and covered in a GelaSkin of Spellbound's cover art, you must collect the pink highlighted words the text messages between Brendan and Emma that are provided each day at the individual tour stops. The daily words can be joined together in sequential order to create the winning secret message. Once you've constructed the winning secret message, you will need to enter that message on Spellbound's tour home page.
2. No purchase, affiliation, status as follower to a certain blog or any other association is required to enter. 
3. Full rules for the contest can be found at the Spellbound tour home page.
4. Winner of the iPod give-away will be announced on Cara's homepage on Tuesday, July 5th.

Remember to check out all the stops to get the rest of the text messages!

June, 13th - The Page Turners / Character Interview , Brendan
June 14th - Candace's Book Blog / Guest Post
June 15th - Baffled Books
June 16th - Hooked To Books /Guest Post, Playlist
June 17th - Truly Bookish

June, 20th - Paranormal Opinion
June 21st  - Mission to Read /Interview with Cara
June 22nd - Reading Angel / Character Interview, Emma
June 23rd -  Miss Page Turners
June 24th -  Books At Midnight

June, 27th - Pure Imagination
June 28th - (Spellbound Book Birthday!) - The Unread Reader special Guest post
June 29th - Bookish Delights
June 30th - Mimosa Stimulus / Guest post
July 1st - writers write, right? /special Guest post

Tuesday, July 5th: Announcement of the big prize winner on Cara's Site!

Book Review: Falling Under

Title and Author: Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: New American Library
Pages: 324 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: 2 stars
Source: Purchased

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams. As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear. And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.

I've seen many books compared to Twilight and while I think some of the comparisons are a stretch, Falling Under struck me as the closest I have seen in a while. I liked Twilight so by no means is this comparison a dig. Falling Under is darker than Twilight and with a bit of the Hades and Persephone mythology thrown in.

When Theia sees Haden for the first time, she is understandably drawn to him since she has been having very lucid dreams about him. Haden tells her he is not a good guy and she should stay away from him. She knows there is something dark and dangerous about him but she just can’t resist him. He even calls her lamb.

There are some really great things about this book. The image of the burning man, the surreal descriptions of the dream world and Haden’s world, and the mythological aspects of the story (I love Greek myth!).

There were other things I didn’t really care for. Haden treats Theia really poorly for most of the book. He is very gentlemanly in the dream world but when they are in the real world, he flirts with her one minute and openly seduces other girls the next. Seduces them. In her face. The really sad part is Theia just keeps coming back for more. He throws jealous fits and is possessive and controlling. I get his reasoning behind it but why bother flirting with her in the first place? Because he can’t resist her?

Then there is Theia’s boy crazy, sexually aggressive best friend, Donny. It is such a double standard to have a female character treat boys the way Donny does. If she were a boy using girls for sex, she would be vilified, not seen as being liberated, empowered or whatever she is supposed to be.

The book does end well and I especially enjoyed the portion told from Haden’s perspective. I grew to like both his character and Theia’s a lot more by then. Falling Under does end with a bit of a cliffhanger so I expect there will be a sequel. On a side note, the cover of this book is amazing!

Content: Profanity, sexual situations, violence